Team Newsletter – November 2017
Wow, it is hard to believe November is here. Thank you to all of those who participated in our annual Coats for Kids donation. We received over 40 jackets to donate. We are accepting coats through the end of November. Thank you in advance for supporting this great cause.
I hope you were able to join us for our free Trunk or Treat event! We had such a great turnout for both locations and we will continue to make these events better each year. If not, don’t worry, we have many fun and free events planned again this year. Up next we have our 4th Annual APA Community Christmas Party on Sunday, December 3rd from 10am-11:30am at both locations. This is open to the public, so bring a friend! We will have cookies, juice, crafts, activities, games, pictures with Santa, and more all inside! We hope you can join us! More details are below!
Don’t forget we close for Thanksgiving Break on Wednesday, November 22nd-Sunday, November 26th. You can check out our calendar here or ask the desk for an extra copy! We hope each and every one of you have a very Happy Thanksgiving with good food and great company! Thank you for being a part of our APA family. As always, if you need anything, please let us know! We are here to help.
More important info you need to know….
Possible New York City Trip in October 2018: In 2016 APA took 60 people to NYC for a group trip to experience New York City and the arts it has to offer!!! Because we had so much fun, we are trying to see if we have enough interest if we did another trip in October 2018. This opportunity will be open to all APA students and families. We would work directly with a company that set up the trip from beginning to end. These trips are NOT for performing or competing. They offer a package deal with some add ons such as dance classes at Broadway Dance Center, etc. We would most likely attend a Friday-Monday in October.
Click here to view the tentative sample itinerary!
Click here to view a price estimate
Important things to know: A student must have an adult chaperone with them. Your cheapest rate will be when you have 4 people in a room. The rates you see are per person and do not include air fare and the bus transportation from the airport to hotel.
All of the details you see are tentative and could change when we announce the final details in late winter. The packages do not include air fare currently, but once we get closer we would get a group airfare quote. We will lock in air fare right before we announce this info and give you a deadline to purchase if you choose to get it through the group. You are not required to fly with us.
If you are interested in attending, we would love to have you fill out this form below and get a better feeling for how many people we are looking to accommodate. Only fill this out if you are a yes or maybe. You are not locked in if you say yes! Everyone is welcome to attend. This could be a dancer & mom, dancer and entire family, or dancer, mom, aunt, and grandma.
Click here if you are a yes or maybe so we have your contact information.
If you have questions, please fill them out in the survey. We will read all of the info and get back to you as soon as we have more details. Please do not reach out to Champion Tours yet!
Logo Wear for Sale – Last Order to receive before Christmas: We have some great new pieces in our logo wear store. You can click the link below and place your order online. Our store will close on November 10th and will not reopen until December 1st. All orders will take 3-4 weeks after the store closing date and will be shipped for free to APA. Click here for the link.
Referral Program: Share us with a friend. When a new family registers and mentions your name, you will EACH receive a $50 tuition credit. (Credit given after 2 months enrolled and there is no limit to the number of families referred!)
Parent Observation Week: November 13th-November 18th, we invite parents to come and sit in the classroom to see what your child has been working on in technique or recreational classes. We will have enough chairs for each child to bring 2 people. If you plan on bringing more than 2 people, please bring chairs or they can sit on the floor. If you have a younger child that can be disruptive to the class, please watch outside of the classroom through our observation windows. Pre-Team parents attend rehearsals, per Miss Jessie’s request.
License Plate Winner: Congrats to license plate 734-RZB! One of our staff members spotted your Academy window sticker while driving! Please contact the front desk so we know who you are and you will receive a $50 tuition credit. To participate next month, grab a FREE window sticker at the desk!
APA Team Student of the Month: Congratulations to Lizzy Weinhold. Lizzy brings a stellar work ethic with her to every class and rehearsal. She strives to always grow as a performer and improve overall technique. Our teachers can always count on Lizzy to retain material, push the group dynamic, and accept new challenges. She is also an active and valued member of the APA Team as she does birthday/dance parties on the weekends, and assists classes. We love her enthusiasm, dedication, and love for all styles of dance!
Please see our bulletin board at both studios for our Recreational Dance and Music Students of the Month!
Facebook & Instagram: Interact with APA on social media! We have fun contests, photos from classes and more on both our Facebook and Instagram pages. Coming up is our 12 Days of Christmas and our APA Great Holiday Giveaway – only on social media! Click here to join us on Facebook and here to follow us on Instagram!
Kudos! Program: We hope that you are enjoying the NEW Kudos! Program we have at APA. Don’t forget to take advantage of the awesome deals that these local businesses have provided. If you are a business owner interested in our Kudos! Program, please email Cara at [email protected]. Check out all the deals here!
APA Community Christmas Party: Join APA on Sunday, December 3rd from 10am-1130am for some Holiday fun! We’re proud to bring this fun FREE event back for it’s 4th year! This is open to the community, so please invite friends and family. Santa will be here for pictures with the kids; we’ll have crafts; games; cookies & juice and much more!! Click on the following links to register today!
Toys for Tots: If you can’t make it to our Community Christmas Party and would still like to donate a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots we will have donation boxes in the lobby of both locations. Donations will be accepted immediately and our donation drive will end on Sunday, December 3rd.
Winter DANCE Showcase: TICKETS GO ON SALE 11/6!!! Costumes have started to come in already! Your teacher will let you know and hand out costumes in class when they arrive. Some costumes were in stock and others made to order. Your class will continuing receiving them through the 1st week in December. You will be trying them on in the classroom when you receive them to ensure they fit properly. If you have any questions about the fit of the costume, please ask your teacher. Alterations are at your own expense.
Competition performance times have been updated. — Competitive Winter Showcase Times
2017 South Milwaukee Christmas Parade: PLEASE NOTE THE PARADE ROUTINE HAS BEEN MODIFIED! We have the South Milwaukee Christmas Parade coming up on Sunday, November 26th. All of our teams will be performing at this event. (Pre-Team is invited but they are not required to attend if you feel they are too young to walk the parade route.) Please have your dancer start learning the parade dance at home. This dance is very similar to our 4th of July parade however we took a couple of 8 counts out to make the routine look cleaner. Please have your students view/practice with the video link below.
Please arrive at 12:45pm and the route starts at 12th & Milwaukee Ave. to the City Hall in South Milwaukee. The parade starts at 1pm. For the parade, we will have everyone wear their warmup jacket (with layers underneath), any black yoga/jazz pants(tights/leggings underneath) and any tennis shoes. You will also need to purchase a black pair of gloves and black headband or ear muffs to cover your ears. Please start looking for these items now! A parent needs to pick up student at the end of the parade route at the SM City Hall. You need to meet when APA is done, not the when the whole parade is completed. We do need 4 parent volunteers to walk with us and help hand out APA giveaways. If you would like to volunteer, please email Miss Trisha at [email protected] She would appreciate the help! ?
Parade Video Links:
***We took out a couple of 8 counts to make the routine look cleaner. On the practice video, the first time the girls do it, it is a slower pace so it is easier for the girls to learn at home. The second time the girls do it, it is regular tempo and this is the trempo we will be using for the parade.
Practice Video Link ***Because the song changes every year, we will not provide a video with music and students will practice when they arrive before the parade starts.
Team Christmas Party/Lock-in:
Our NEW team lock-in event is December 1st – 2nd. Details are outlined below.
- Pre-Team: 6:30-8pm ONLY with Miss Jessie and Pre-Team assistants. Bring a Christmas exchange gift, between $8-$10. Wrapped. Everyone who brings one will receive one.
- All other teams: Arrival: 8pm
- What to bring: Pillow and sleeping bag or blankets, PJ’s, Dance shoes (students will perform for each other), Bring a wrapped Christmas exchange gift, between $8-$10. Everyone who brings one will receive one. We will be dividing our groups into ages 3rd-6th graders and 7th – 11th graders. Water bottles: money for vending machine snacks (optional)
- APA will be providing soda, water and pizza when students arrive. Pre-Team will have juice boxes instead of soda. We will also provide muffins for the morning when students wake up.
- Activities for the night: Perform your routines for your fellow dancers, play games, gift exchange, watch a movie, and “sleep.”
- Pick up is 8am!
- 8am-9am: Live Makeup and Hair Demo by Miss Sarah in Studio A. We cannot go past 9am because dance classes start at that time.
- Production rehearsal is from 8-10am. If a student is in production, a parent can still attend the makeup and hair demo with Miss Sarah.
Optional Winter Break Intensive: We are still looking into options to host a one day workshop at APA during our winter break. We will update you when we know more.
Optional Convention: NYCDA Dance Alliance, February 9th-11th, 2018 (Rosemont, IL Hyatt Regency O’Hare)
The studio will be offering a registration sign up for the NYCDA (New York City Dance Alliance) convention – this will be similar to the Showstoppers sign up in that we are looking for at least 10 dancers to register to send an instructor and go as a studio. Deadline is Thursday, December 21st.
The convention is February 9th-11th in Chicago, and features a schedule packed with classes plus special auditions for scholarships to a variety of dance programs and opportunities! The faculty includes professionals who have had ballet careers, dance on Broadway, in music and movies, and more; there will be some truly incredible classes here! Options include a “Ready, Set, Dance” 1-day workshop for younger dancers (ages 5-7) who are just getting into the convention world, and full 2-day workshops for age divisions split into Mini, Junior, Teen, and Senior. Cost is $100 of Ready, Set, Dance participants and $255 for all other dancers. Spectator fees are $50 p/p IF you choose to watch. Hotel and travel accommodations are extra. NYCDA Conventions are an incredible way for dancers to experience training from industry professionals and be inspired to grow and learn themselves as they are surrounded by their peers from around the country. Please pay at our front desk by Thursday, December 21st. Visit this link for hotel information and more details http://www.nycdance.com/CHschedules.aspx
Hair & Makeup for Petite, Junior and Teen Teams: NEW THIS YEAR: Miss Sarah will be doing a live demo after the lock in on December 2nd from 8-9am. Due to Saturday classes starting, we are not able to go past 9am.
Pre-Team: Hair is the same as last year – click here for video
Competition Fees/Events for 2017-2018 – Automatically Charged 1/1/18 to your account on file.
Miss Trisha has everyone’s updated fees. Please contact her or the front desk for your fee total. Please remember these fees must be paid on time.
1st Team Routine: $359
Each additional Team Routine: $222
Pre-Team: please note you have 1 jazz routine and 1 tap routine.
***If anyone is enrolled in tap rehearsal, you would also subtract an additional $15 because they will not perform at the Lakefront competition.***
Team Events: Click for our most up to date, calendar of events CLICK HERE